YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
Question:
Will students continue to have both recess and PE?
Answer:
Yes, we are planning for students to have both recess and PE. It is important for children to have these opportunities to move around, and we want to ensure that they are able to do so in the safest way possible. For this reason, students will be required to wear masks, including when outdoors. The instructional subcommittee is still working on the details for how to best deliver connections, and thus, it has yet to be determined whether these classes will happen via in-person or virtual instruction. Additional details will be available in the coming weeks.
Question:
Will we be able to change our mind about the method of instruction in the middle of the semester?
Answer:
Families who elect the hybrid option (in-person M/Tu OR Th/F - with all virtual instruction on Wednesdays) can decide to transition to virtual instruction at any time. To ensure adequate physical distancing in the classrooms, families who elect the virtual option will not be able to transition to in-person instruction. Families may be offered another opportunity to select in-person instruction later in the spring; however whether this will be possible will depend on a number of factors, including the classroom capacity at that time.
Question:
Does GLOBE have the flexibility to deviate from DeKalb County's plan? If so, other schools have opened - why isn't GLOBE open yet?
Answer:
As a charter school, GLOBE does have flexibility in making decisions regarding our plans for reopening that differ from those of DeKalb County - which includes different criteria and dates for reopening as well as different models (e.g. beginning with 2 vs. 1 day(s) of in-person instruction).
As GLOBE's reopening committee examined the calendar, two major factors drove our decision to not attempt to return before January: 1) inevitable instructional time that would be lost while adjusting to the procedures for in-person learning and 2) anticipated spikes in cases after the Thanksgiving break. COVID-19 cases in DeKalb County have been on the rise in recent weeks, and are approaching the levels that we saw at the beginning of the school year. Despite guidance against family gatherings, it is anticipated that these counts will increase substantially in the coming weeks. It is the position of GLOBE's reopening committee that it is not safe to return under these conditions.
While some private schools have been able to remain open, these schools have the benefit of additional resources, smaller class sizes, and often larger classroom spaces that have made reopening possible. GLOBE is also very unique in many ways that make it challenging to transfer protocols from other schools - some of these considerations include our DLI model, the split across two campuses with very different space-related constraints, and that we draw students from all across the county rather than from a smaller geographic area.
Question:
If students need to quarantine, will they still be able to receive instruction at home?
Answer:
Yes, since we will continue to offer a virtual option, instruction will remain available for students who are under quarantine.
Question:
Will vaccines be required to return to campus?
Answer:
Although there has been promising news about candidate vaccines in recent weeks, there has not yet been an authorized or approved vaccine to prevent COVID-19. The timeline for widespread vaccination availability and coverage remains unknown, and thus GLOBE cannot yet make decisions about vaccination requirements relative to our plans for reopening.
